Reborn Reincarnate Recreate: Rewrite
by exocara
Summary: "Getting reborn into an anime was the last thing I expected. I don't even watch anime!" Would a soul make the same choices they could have made if they had retained memories of their previous life? / Not an SI, but you can take it as such. Tsuna's still Tsuna, in the end.
1. Chapter 1

A little over two years ago, I published my first Katekyo Hitman Reborn fic. I've written a lot more since then, but you always hold your first fic in a fandom close to you. maybe.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Birth**

-o-

The day Sawada Tsunayoshi came into her world was one of the happiest days of her life.

Nana had always wanted to be a mother, and now she was.

It was a little difficult to take care of her Tsu-kun, especially considering that her husband had to go back to work immediately after Tsu-kun's birth, but she managed. Tsu-kun was sometimes fussy and cried for hours on end, but other times he was very quiet and well behaved.

He mostly just slept a lot, though.

-o-

(I don't know. I'm tired. I'm scared. I want to be alone. I want that person to come back. I want to be alone again. I'm sleepy. I want to sleep.)

-o-

When Tsu-kun reached the one year old mark, Nana started to notice that something was off about him. It wasn't _bad_ or anything; Tsu-kun was just different. He never talked at all when she was nearby, but, when he was unaware of her presence, she could hear him repeat words over and over, not stopping until he had finally pronounced the word as well as he could without teeth.

Nana invited her friends over every now and then. They cooed over Tsu-kun, talking about how cute a baby he was and interacting with him. From their interactions, Nana could see Tsu-kun observing the people talking to him carefully and when he did something that made them laugh, he would carefully attempt the same action.

When they were tired of interacting with him, he would choose a toy that didn't make any sound and situate himself somewhere close to them. Nana tried to test somethings, once giving him a toy with a bell on it. She had observed that when she and her friends said certain things, like his name or the names of other people or locations, the sound of the bell became muted and less frequent. Another time, she placed Tsu-kun somewhere farther away, out of hearing range of their conversation, and she would watch him slowly and inconspicuously make his way back to Nana. If she hadn't been looking out for it, she would have definitely missed it. It was confirmed.

Her Tsu-kun was a shy, budding genius!

-o-

(I can't believe I died. Actually, no, I can't believe I remembered my past life. Shouldn't I be a blank slate? Why did I have to go through this again?)

(Namimori, huh? Why does it sound so familiar? Why does my name sound so…)

-o-

Nana felt that she ought to start reading to her child. It would be good to cultivate Tsu-kun's mind from the start so that he could be happy in life.

"…and they lived happily ever after. The end!" Nana finished. Tsu-kun was clumsily touching the words with his hands, tapping on the more complicated kanji. Nana smiled and pointed to the first kanji, reading out the pronunciation. Tsu-kun paused for a moment before cautiously plopping his hand on that kanji again. Nana repeated it and Tsu-kun moved onto the next kanji. This process repeated until they got to the end of the book. And then, Tsu-kun spoke his first words he's ever said to her.

"Mama, awigago," he said hesitantly. Before his expression could morph into a scowl at his inability to pronounce _arigato_ , Nana scooped him up into a hug.

"No problem, Tsu-kun!"

-o-

(She thinks I'm a genius. I feel so bad. I'm an impostor. I… I…)

(…I can't be a burden to her.)

-o-

Tsu-kun followed her around like a shadow, toddling with uneasy steps and falling down more often than now. However, every time he fell, he just picked himself up silently and continued walking. Nana felt a mixture of pride and sadness. Tsu-kun was so independent, it was almost like he didn't need her at all.

Nana wondered if he would one day leave her behind, just like Iemitsu did.

-o-

(I am five years old when father comes back. Funny; I thought I didn't have a father. I had never seen him around before.

My education is progressing smoothly. I have near impeccable pronunciation after all my teeth had grown in.

It had been a painful process.

My Japanese is progressing along smoothly and I can read a lot of kanji. I can answer math questions for people at least twice my age. My science is good, but it will be better. English is my second best, right after math. It kind of makes sense, considering that English had been one of the languages I needed to know back then.

It was kind of ironic, though. In my past life, my father had not been there for us either. Not for my mother, not for me, not for my brother. I didn't hate him, however, similar to how I don't hate my father of now.

I mean, how can you hate someone you do not love?)

-o-

Iemitsu had come back with an old man whom he had introduced as his boss. Timoteo was his name. Nana had wanted to tell Iemitsu all about their darling, genius Tsu-kun but the presence of Timoteo zipped her mouth shut. Why should she tell a total stranger about her precious child? She wanted to keep his progress between herself and Iemitsu only. _Family_ only.

And besides, she didn't really like the old man that much.

They were conversing about this and that when a loud crack filled the air, followed by a slam of something heavy hitting the earth. Nana leapt out of her seat, heart in her throat, and she was the first to dash out of the house to check on Tsu-kun.

She almost screamed when she saw fire, _fire_ , surrounding Tsu-kun. Her son looked up at her with wide eyes and the fire immediately vanished. Her husband came after that, followed by Timoteo. Tsu-kun had redirected his gaze back to his hands, staring at them blankly, as if he did not know what to do.

"What happened?" Iemitsu asked.

"Tsu-kun fell out of the tree, I think, and there was—" Nana had been about to tell Iemitsu about the fire but Tsu-kun's head snapped up again and he stared at Nana with wide eyes, full of desperation and terror. Nana found the words changing in her mouth, and what came out was: "There was a miracle! Tsu-kun didn't get injured very badly." She wasn't lying.

"Ah I see," Iemitsu chuckled. He walked over to Tsu-kun to pick him up. "Be more careful, Tsuna-fish! You wouldn't want to get hurt, would you?"

Tsu-kun hesitated, and then shook his head. Nana had never heard him talk to anyone ever since he had caught sight of Timoteo. Or more specifically, his floral shirt. Honestly, Nana never knew why Tsu-kun seemed so wary around old men in suits or floral shirts.

-o-

(These things don't happen! You don't just, one doesn't just, things don't just…

Except, they _had_.

I never really watched anime, unless it was with my younger brother. As such, I usually didn't remember details of the shows that well but, how could I _have forgotten_?

Colorful fire and the _mafia_. My brother loves – _loved, my traitorous mind corrected, he's not here anymore_ – that anime. It was the only one he would not move on from, ever since he had watched it when he was twelve, up to right now – _then_ – when he's twenty years old. Even the day before I had died, he still had been talking about it.

[and that was kind of ironic, considering that i had—]

Sawada Tsunayoshi, the person whose body I had stolen, was going to be a mafia boss. Dragged kicking or screaming, there was no choice for him.

There was no choice for _me_.

Suddenly, being seen as a genius wasn't something I wanted anymore.)

-o-

Nana was worried. After that visit, Tsu-kun had withdrawn into himself. He no longer attempted the academic questions with glee, he no longer asked Nana to borrow for him books that were above his reading level, he no longer _expressed_ himself.

Nowadays, he spent more time locked up in his room than anything, only coming out when she called for him or when it was time to eat. Nana couldn't help but miss the animated, precocious child he had once been, the Tsu-kun who followed her around everywhere, the Tsu-kun who was _unafraid_ to show the world who he truly was.

Nana couldn't help but feel that it was Iemitsu's fault for bringing Timoteo into the house. Nana couldn't help but _resent_ him for it.

-o-

My name is… well, it doesn't really matter what my name is anymore. All that matters is that I reside in the body of one Sawada Tsunayoshi after dying one sunny Saturday morning.

I didn't recall much about my death, just that little tidbit. I couldn't even remember how I died.

I had been in my mid-twenties when I passed on, which was pretty sad. I didn't regret much, though. I just didn't want to leave my brother behind. He would be fine, though.

(He _had_ to be.)

But now, _but now_ , knowing that I was to be a mafia boss when I reached fourteen, I…

(I don't want to be a _mafia_ boss.)

It filled me with fear.

(Because, the cause of my death had been…)

-o-

Tsu-kun wasn't bad at studies, but they weren't good at it either.

Tsu-kun didn't hate his life, but he didn't like it either.

Tsu-kun wasn't sad, _but he wasn't happy either_.

Nana did not know what to do. Nearly nine years had passed since the incident and Tsu-kun had only gotten quieter and quieter, until he was all but wallpaper. In fact, the only time he ever smiled was when he did things with Nana. Otherwise, he would have the same, melancholic introspective expression on his face.

He didn't have friends, he didn't have hobbies, he didn't have goals, he didn't have _passion_.

Nana could still remember the day before the visit. They were talking about jobs and Tsuna had so proudly said that he wanted to be a teacher when he grew up so that he could make a difference in the lives of people. He had fire in his eyes back then, fire in his eyes and determination in his heart.

Nana knew that the fire was still in there, somewhere. She just needed someone to bring it out.

Clutching the flyer in her hand, she dialed the number written on it. The phone rang once before it was picked up.

" _Ciaossu."_

* * *

 **Author's notes**

So, right. My first rewrite. I've been planning to do this for a long time, but I just didn't know how to do it. It probably won't always be mostly in third person point of view (aka, it will probably be mostly 1st person so that Tsuna's thoughts can be articulated more). And hopefully be more interesting for people?

Tsuna's background is more formulated in this one and, while his past life is not _that_ important to plot, I would hint to it. It would be interesting to see if you could piece together who he had been in his past life.

You will recognise some lines here as lines from the original RRR. That will continue because, well, this is a rewrite. I'll put in some of the original lines to keep the story.

Thank you for supporting me for so long! And thank you to those who found me with RRR and stuck with me through everything else!

p.s. Tsuna's a really creepy child. If it were anyone other than Nana, they would probably be freaked out by him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Cultural notes:** In Japanese, there are levels of formality. Depending on how close you are with that person and/or the status of you vs that person, you speak differently. For example, kimi vs anata for "you". Kimi is more familiar but if you use it for an elder or a stranger, it's rude. Anata is more formal (but still p rude. it is best to use the name or the status). Another example would be arigato vs arigato gozaimasu

If you use formal/polite speech for people that are close to you, it's kind of like you're making yourself distant.

So basically, Tsuna uses keigo _everywhere_ , except with his mother.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Acquaintances**

Tsuna was her friend and if anyone said otherwise, Kyoko would… Kyoko would… Well, probably be sad or something. And then sic her brother on them so that they could learn the true meaning of friendship and belonging.

It didn't matter if Tsuna only addressed her by her surname, or that he only used polite speech, or that he rarely initiated contact with her, or that he hardly made eye contact. When Hana wasn't around, Kyoko would talk to Tsuna and she could tell that Tsuna enjoyed their little conversations, and so that was that.

"And then my brother punched a hole in the punching bag! It was the third punching bag he broke this month!" Kyoko told Tsuna animatedly and considered it a success when he let a small laugh escape his lips.

There was a lull in conversation and Tsuna was fidgeting with his pencil.

"Sasagawa-san," he started, making Kyoko instantly snap to attention. Tsuna was initiating!

"If you have any problems, you can always come to me," Tsuna said. "You can use me as a sounding board, for advice, or even as a scapegoat. I don't mind."

While Kyoko was a bit alarmed at what Tsuna said – a _scapegoat! Why would she use him as a scapegoat?_ – she didn't show it nor did she refuse Tsuna's help, afraid that if she did, all the progress she went through to make Tsuna open up would be lost.

"I'll keep that in mind," Kyoko replied, and Tsuna nodded.

-o-

(I don't want to get involved with anyone, I don't want to drag them into the bloody world of the mafia.)

But I am too selfish to turn people away.

This is the least I could do for her.)

-o-

Reborn's file on Tsunayoshi said very little. There was nothing remarkable about him which was, in itself, something remarkable. He did not participate in any clubs, scored firmly in the average for his tests, and was incredibly passive and distantly polite to the one friend he had. Reborn would have written Tsunayoshi off as a person with no life but it was clear that his social isolation was self-imposed and that was worrying.

Could Tsunayoshi be one of those people who distanced themselves from humanity? Because they thought themselves better than it? That probably wasn't it; Tsunayoshi had never shown any disdain for the people around him, and he treated his mother with love.

Reborn couldn't make any assumptions.

He would just have to see how Tsunayoshi reacted to having a 'child' as his home tutor.

-o-

I sat in my room, doing my homework. There wasn't much else I did after school. Perhaps after this I could maybe take a walk or see if there was anything I could help my mother with.

"Tsu-kun! A home tutor is coming today!" my mother's voice was the only warning I got before she walked into my room. A held in a sigh. It seemed that what I should do for today had been decided for me. I didn't really get why she always wanted to get a _home_ tutor for me; sending me to group tuition would be just as fine and, not to mention, much cheaper. And—

Wait. Did she just say that a home tutor was _coming_? As in, she had _already_ hired him?

"Why didn't you ask me first?" The words came tumbling out of my mouth without my permission, laced with hurt and betrayal. My mother either didn't notice it or pretended not to.

"Your father recommended it to me," she continued talking. "He said that it would be good for you!"

The rest of my mother's words faded into background static as a foreign-familiar feelings built up in my chest, all but making it hard for me to breathe as molten lava filled my lungs and burned in my throat. For the first time in what seemed to be a lifetime, I felt… _anger_. Burning how fiery rage coursed through my veins, followed almost immediately by the sting of harsh cold ice.

(How dare he, how _dare_ he? How dare he be absent from my life and then, for his own convenience, decide to butt in and control my decisions like he's _entitled_ to? What if I don't want a home tutor? What if I don't _need_ a home tutor? What would you do then, _father_?

What makes him think that he has the _right_ to, just, _decide_ these things for me? I don't want to do well in school! I don't want to be a mafia boss! I don't want to be part of the mafia? What makes you think you have the right to be absent from my life for seventeen years only to show up when I decide to make my career choice? I want to be a _teacher_ , not an office worker in your stupid company. I don't care if I'll earn more there, I want to provide children with the care and love that _you never did for us_ , so just _back_ —)

 _BACK!_

I snapped back to attention just as my body decided to follow my instincts and throw itself backwards. I saw a black blur in front of my and knew that if I had been a second slower, it would definitely have smashed into my jaw and make me enter a world of pain. The black blur did a somersault in the air and landed on the ground.

It was a child. An honest to god, two-year old child who was wearing a black suit and black fedora. His pitch _black_ , soulless, eyes stared into mind and I couldn't help but get the impression that he found me lacking. I quickly broke eye contact, repressing the urge to shiver. Those eyes were not the eyes of a child.

 _Katekyo Hitman Reborn_. It appears that the not-baby in front of me was Reborn. My new home tutor. The milestone in my life that signified a rite of passage.

The story had begun.

-o-

Mochida had asked to meet Kyoko at the park after school. Thinking nothing of it, Kyoko agreed.

"Please go out with me, Kyoko!" Mochida said. He was holding a bunch of flowers in his hands and Kyoko could see that he had spent quite a fair bit of money on them. His eyes were shut tightly in nervousness and Kyoko's mind was totally, utterly, blank as to how to reject him nicely. She decided to go with the oblivious route.

"Haha, that's a funny joke, Mochida-senpai!" she said, smiling with forceful brightness. "But—"

"It's not a joke, Kyoko. I really like you."

"I… I'm sorry, I don't feel the same way."

"But why?" Mochida sounded heartbroken. Kyoko's own heart ached and she wracked her brain for an answer that wasn't just a flat out ' _because I don't like you in that way_ '. She didn't want to hurt Mochida, after all.

" _If you have any problems, you can always come to me. You can use me as a sounding board, for advice, or even as a scapegoat. I don't mind."_

"B-because I like Sawada Tsunayoshi from my class!" she blurted out before immediately slapping her hands over her mouth. Why had she said that? Why…

Before she could retract her words, however, Mochida's face fell and ran away. The flowers he bought from her were on the ground, beautiful flowers crushed and some of the petals gone from the drop.

Kyoko didn't feel that she was worthy enough to pick them up.

-o-

He had brought them to a small alleyway away from the road so that no one could overhear their conversation.

"Fight me."

"…sorry? Um, I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, fight me. A duel. One on one," Kensuke hissed out through gritted teeth. His pride was stinging and his heart was heavy. Sawada Tsunayoshi stood in front of him, eyes slightly wider than usual but otherwise there was no chance from the default, politely disinterested expression on his face. Kensuke couldn't help but feel it burn like salt against a wound. Did Sawada really think that little of him?

"Uh." Sawada brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head as he looked away. "Why?"

Kensuke felt his blood boil. Sawada was stalling. It was irritating.

"Because I want Sasagawa Kyoko. We'll fight and the winner gets her," he bit out curtly. He was about to continue but the words died in his throat when he saw Sawada's face.

As a rule, Sawada was only seen with a few expressions: polite disinterest, confusion, and hesitation. Never before had Kensuke seen this closed off look with cold eyes filled with barely hidden disdain.

"I refuse," Sawada said quietly. He didn't have to raise his voice for it to sound firm. Kensuke was suddenly filled with the urge to apologize but his pride was still hurting and Kensuke wanted Tsuna to hurt too.

"I _hate_ you," Kensuke said. Sawada just nodded and turned away, about to walk out of the alley. His message was loud and clear. Kensuke wasn't _worth_ the effort to reply. He wasn't _worth_ the time. Just like how Kyoko preferred Sawada, like how _they_ preferred…

"What… What do you have that _I_ don't? Why do they always prefer someone else?" To his horror, Kensuke could hear his voice wavering and his eyes burning. He tried furiously to blink away the tears, but it didn't work. Through blurred vision, he could see Sawada turn around but he could not see the expression on Sawada's face. Kensuke furiously wiped away the tears, but they kept on rolling down his cheeks. In a last ditch effort to save the tattered ruins of his pride, Kensuke turned around, willing Sawada to just _leave_.

So, of course, Sawada didn't.

"Mochida-senpai." His voice was quiet, but it was different this time. No less firm, but with a soothing quality to it. There was a rustling sound before Sawada spoke again. "Mochida-senpai, please turn around."

Like _hell_ Kensuke was going to do that.

Brown invaded his line of sight and Kensuke scowled when he was Sawada standing in front of him. Then, he abruptly stiffened up when Sawada wrapped his arms around him, rubbing his back and making a low humming noise.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kensuke growled out between sobs. He tried to pull away but Sawada only tightened his grip. "Shut up! Leave me alone! _Shit_ , you're just going to tell everyone that I cried, didn't you? You're just going to embarrass me further, right?"

"No, I'm not. I won't tell anyone, I promise. And besides, it's okay to cry." Something in Kensuke seemed to resonate in that moment, seemed to _click_ , and he found himself clutching onto Tsuna and sobbing, letting all his bottled up frustrations out into the open and not being judged for it.

-o-

"Are you feeling better?" I asked Mochida after the sniffles died down. I felt him nod before I pulled away, making sure that I was smiling gently. I used the handkerchief in my hand to carefully wipe the tears off his face. The actions were familiar to me, exactly how I used to take care of the crying children in the child care center back in another life, another world. And, _damn_ me for what I've done, Mochida was just a child. He was just a child, someone who didn't know any better. He wasn't an adult.

How could I have treated him in such a manner?

Shoving down my self-deprecating thoughts, I focused on the task at hand. Mochida.

"Would you like to talk about it, Mochida-kun?" Mochida seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he soon became aware as to where we were and shook his head. I didn't press it, but I offered him a listening ear whenever he wanted to talk.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand and I was hit with the strongest wave of foreboding I ever had in my entire lives so far. Quickly, I put myself between Mochida and the person standing at one of the entrances of the alleyway, hands in the air in the universal sign for surrender.

"You're late," Hibari Kyoya said flatly. I laughed nervously while trying to surreptitiously gesture to Mochida to leave.

"Well, you see," I stalled. Hibari didn't bother to listen as he took a step towards us. I could hear ominous piano music in my head.

"Latecomers will be bitten to death." And _that_ was the cue to run.

I grabbed Mochida's arm and sprinted in the opposite direction of Hibari as fast as I could.

He still caught us, in the end.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

I decided to add kind of a backstory for Mochida for reasons. I'm not sure if I want him to play a bigger part in this but hey why not.

Tsuna is unaware that he used "Mochida-kun". Teachers usually call their students' names with the suffix: –kun. Tsuna is horrible and he basically projects everywhere. He would probably patronize a lot of people, viewing them as children. Well, technically they _are_ children to him, but it's not nice to be coddled.

Kyoko is a 14 year old child who doesn't want to hurt people. She's allowed to make the wrong decisions and she'll learn from them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes:** Hints of Tsuna's past life. Guess who he was, and who his brother was. Haha, it's like his life was something straight out of mundane fanfiction. He also died around 24-25…

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

Reborn had mixed feelings about Sawada Tsunayoshi. On a basic level, he could tell that Tsuna was a kind, polite individual with no outstanding bad points. On an instinctual level, however, Reborn could feel that there was something… _wrong_ with him.

(The same way there had been something _wrong_ with Luce. Back then, he had ignored his instincts.

Never again.)

It was morning, almost time for school. According to Tsuna's schedule, he would be down for breakfast right about…

Light footsteps were heard descending the steps and walking into the kitchen. They paused at the doorway as Tsuna took in the sight of Reborn eating _Tsuna's_ breakfast.

"Um." Tsuna said. It looked like it hurt for his brain to think.

"In the mafia, it's a dog-eat-dog world," Reborn said. Tsuna nodded slowly and took a deep breath. Reborn was prepared for a shriek of outrage and indignation, but Tsuna just gave Reborn a blindingly bright and _cold_ smile.

"It's good that we're not mafia, right?" was all the he said before he took a slice of bread from the cabinet and ate it. "I'm going off to school now, mum," he said.

"Have a nice day, Tsu-kun!"

Reborn was annoyed. Tsuna hadn't reacted the way Reborn predicted he would. Who did he think he was?

"Baka-Tsuna," Reborn snapped. Much to Reborn's delight, Tsuna froze up at the name, drawing up his shoulders and clenching his fists. _Finally_ , a reaction. But then?

Tsuna walked past Reborn without saying a word, without acknowledging Reborn's words.

He had _ignored_ Reborn.

Reborn narrowed his eyes and threw a spoon at Tsuna's head. Tsuna ducked out of the way and the spoon clattered to the ground. Without missing a beat, Tsuna picked it up and turned around to give it back to Reborn.

"Throwing things you don't want is bad, Reborn-san. Please don't do that," Tsuna said with that same bright but cold smile.

"Baka-Tsuna," Reborn started. The smile tightened a bit, but still stayed on Tsuna's face.

"I'll see you after school, Reborn-san," Tsuna said with a nod before turning around to leave the house.

He had ignored Reborn's words once again.

-o-

It continued throughout the day, becoming a test of patience. Tsuna versus Reborn, who would win.

Tsuna did not seem to be affected in the least. While he had shown some signs of irritation at the beginning, by the fifth time Reborn used 'Baka-Tsuna', Tsuna didn't so much as blink.

Reborn paused in his efforts when class started – he _was_ to make Tsuna a mafia boss, but Reborn still understood the value of education – and was about to restart his efforts during lunch when the door to the classroom slid open and Mochida Kensuke walked in. Reborn could see Sasagawa Kyoko tense up but Mochida only nodded at her with a small smile when he passed, otherwise not stopping in his beeline towards Tsuna's table.

"Let's eat lunch together, Tsuna!" Mochida said. Tsuna's eyes were wide and he looked panicked. His hands were gripping tightly onto his bento and his entire posture just screamed 'uncomfortable'.

"Um, Mochida-kun?" he started hesitantly and the entire class burst into whispers.

" _Did you hear him say 'kun'?"_

" _How bold of him to use that for a senpai!"_

" _What's their relationship?"_

Reborn could tell that Tsuna just wanted to disappear. It was a look he had never seen before on the boy and he reveled in it.

Then Tsuna closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he reopened his eyes, only Reborn's training and natural ability to read people enabled him to make out the embarrassment and nervousness that Tsuna hid under a placid smile.

"Mochida-senpai, let's go eat somewhere else."

-o-

I remember, a long time ago, in a life long past and a world that no longer exists to me… I remember that people used to call me names. They called me clumsy, they called me stupid, they called me _useless_.

You know what they say; if you keep hearing something, you'd start to believe it. I began to acknowledge their words. I accepted it and 'useless' became a part of me.

And then my brother came and I woke up.

It took a long, long, _long_ time for me to get over the name. For me to be able to realise that I was more than just useless. My brother had been with me every step of the way, helping me build up my confidence. It was enough for me, knowing that someone out there still believed in me.

And that was why I was never going to give in to Reborn.

"Um, I think the baby's called for you?" Mochida said hesitantly. I looked at him with fake confusion.

"Really? I don't think so. My name's Tsuna, not Baka-Tsuna." I continued to eat my bento, refusing to even bat an eyelash when Reborn stole most of my food. I wasn't really that hungry anyway.

I knew that Reborn was glaring at me. He had been glaring at me throughout the day. "Tsuna," he forced out through gritted teeth. Hah! I won!

I turned to him. "Hello, Reborn! Did you need something?" I asked.

"…" Reborn said, still glaring at me. Mochida seemed extremely uncomfortable in the tension-filled silence. Lucky for him, the bell rang at that exact moment, giving him a reason to escape the train wreck of a situation.

-o-

Reborn and Tsuna on the roof. Tsuna took the flask of tea and poured a cup. He then offered it to Reborn.

"Aren't you going to class?" Reborn asked. Tsuna looked away.

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Tsuna asked instead of answering. Reborn decided to drop his question. He could always tutor Tsuna to make up for the lesson he missed.

"You know that you are going to be a mafia boss, right?" Reborn asked. He remembered having that talk with Tsuna after Nana was out of hearing range. Tsuna hadn't reacted much back then, only nodding once before going back to his homework. They hadn't spoken about the matter since then.

"I don't want to, but it's not like I can refuse." Tsuna closed his eyes. He somehow procured another cup and poured tea into it. His hands shook slightly as he lifted the cup up to his lips.

"You were expecting to have a talk with me," Reborn realised. Tsuna nodded slowly.

"Was that, not what you were planning?" Tsuna frowned. "I mean, you've never really talked about the whole mafia thing so I figured that you probably wanted to go through the details with me some time. And I'd rather be prepared for it than just have it sprung up on me." He laughed awkwardly and lifted his cup. "Chamomile tea," he explained. "Not sure if it really works for me but the psychological boost is pretty nice."

"You knew this was coming," Reborn said. "You predicted it."

No, he couldn't. He couldn't make assumptions like that. Maybe it was the famed Vongola Hyper Intuition! It didn't necessarily had to _be_ —

Reborn took a deep breath. He hated thinking about the past. Besides, he could see that Tsuna's hands were shaking visibly now, and he was staring intensely into his cup of tea. Reborn decided to change the subject.

"You are related to the first Vongola's boss, Giotto. When he retired, he moved to Japan to settle down." Tsuna looked up at Reborn, and Reborn knew that he had the boy's full attention.

"What happened to the other heirs?" he asked. "Surely there would be more capable people?"

"They're all dead," Reborn replied. A pause, and then Tsuna broke eye contact.

"Is my father dead too?" Tsuna took another sip of tea, and the cup obscured his face. Reborn couldn't read it.

"No, he's not," Reborn said. There was a brief moment of silence and Tsuna closed his eyes.

"I see."

-o-

I really didn't like it.

I didn't like being observed like I was a bug under a microscope, looked at like I was a ticking time bomb ready to go off at any moment. It was demeaning, and it put me on edge.

I really didn't like Reborn.

"Tsu-kun, where are you going?" my mother asked me as I was about to head out the door. I tried to give her a smile but I was sure it ended up more of a grimace.

"I'm going out for a walk then I'll buy dinner," I replied. I needed to get out of the house and away from Reborn. I needed space to _breathe_.

"Hmm, I'll take anything Tsu-kun wants!" mother replied. I expected that.

"Alright, then." With that, I was out of the house. I took out a small notebook and filled to a certain section.

My brother loves ma— loved making lists. It was a think he did, ranking any and everything under the sun. That habit was something I adopted; the lists gave me a sense of familiarity and made me feel less out of place.

Currently, the first thing on the list of Nice Namimori Food, was Takesushi. I guessed that was where I was going this evening.

It was a short walk to Takesushi. I walked into the shop and—

"Oh, Sawada!"

I blinked, staring at the boy who had been just about to exit the shop. Yamamoto Takeshi, a popular boy in my class. He sat rather close to me and I often whispered answers to him when he had been called upon.

I wasn't in the mood to talk to my classmates, to put on that distance, always-polite attitude I often adopted at school. Reborn had already put me in a bad mood and, honestly, all I wanted to do now was lie on the floor and scream.

"Yamamoto-san," I greeted back, my tone hinting that I wanted the conversation to end. It didn't seem like Yamamoto took the hint because he just laughed and walked closer to me.

"Please, no need to be so formal. Just call me Yamamoto!"

"I'd rather not. We're not that close."

"You called Mochida-senpai 'Mochida-kun', though?"

"…" _God_ , I knew that would come back to bite me in the ass. "It was a mistake, a slip of tongue. It was rude of me, I shouldn't have done that."

"Ooh, I see. Anyway, we _are_ kind of friends, though. I mean, you whisper answers to me in class!" _Dammit_ Yamamoto, can't you see that I want to be left alone?

"I whisper answers to everyone during class." Short, clipped. _Please_ take the hint.

"You whisper to me the most, though."

"That's because you need the most help!" I snapped and immediately regretted it. I placed my hands over my mouth as if I could take the words back, but it was too late. They were now in the open. Warily, I looked up at Yamamoto's face.

He looked delighted. "Haha, yeah, that's true! But, you know, I don't think I've ever seen you annoyed before!" he exclaimed. Holy hell, what was _wrong_ with this boy?

"Don't you have anything better to do than to bother with me?" I asked exasperatedly, trying to draw Yamamoto's attention away from me. Yamamoto shrugged.

"Not really, I was just going out for a walk. I'm pretty free now," he said. I wanted to just crouch down and scream. Screaming sounded like a _great_ idea nowadays.

It wasn't that I hated Yamamoto. I didn't even dislike him. Yamamoto was nice and friendly and, in another world, I might have been friends with him. However, this wasn't that world. This was a world where anyone I was friends with would be dragged into the mafia and I _didn't_ —

It would be cruel of me to just, to take the lives away from these _children_. As an adult, I should ensure that these children would walk down the right path and be outstanding citizens of the world.

(And yet, and _yet_ , I knew that if Yamamoto Takeshi were to try to be my friend, I would be too selfish to say no.)

"Look," I said, tired. "We don't talk in school. We aren't friends. We don't have much contact out of school. Why are you talking to me?"

"Well, uh," Yamamoto looked to the side. "Do you remember the math homework that was assigned today? Have you completed it?"

That was something I wasn't quite expecting. "Yeah, I have," I replied.

"That's great! I'm having problems with it, actually, is it okay if you could help me out with it?" Yamamoto asked. I was about to decline but I realized that this was another good excuse for avoiding Reborn for later times. I was only going to do this once, anyway. Just one time. It didn't mean that Yamamoto was my friend, nor did it mean that Reborn would drag him into the mafia.

"Alright," I agreed. "When would you like to work on it?"

"Now."

"Now? O—kay…" I paused. Yamamoto was simply full of surprises, wasn't he? I glanced at my watch and saw that I had around an hour before I needed to buy dinner and return home. That should be enough time for a small study session.

Yamamoto beamed at that.

* * *

 **There was supposed to be more Yamamoto but I decided against it. I'm going to write more of him in the next chapter.**

Scrapped Scenes:

 **001**

"I… don't know. Talking to you just seems _right_ , somehow. It's as right as rain falling from the sky!" Yamamoto looked away, scratching the back of his head. "Haha, does that make sense?"

It did, somehow. "No," I said instead.

"Hahaha, yeah, I thought so." And awkward silence settled between us and I was about to abscond when Yamamoto started speaking again. "You know, I've kind of always wanted to talk to you."

"What." That was news to me.

"Yeah. You always help me in class and you're bad at sports so I help you there and I think we have sort of an understanding? But it's intimidating to talk to you because you're always so distant. I just thought that you didn't really want to make friends, you know? But then Mochida-senpai came and I saw how happy you and Mochida-senpai were—" _happy?_ Where in the world was Yamamoto _from_? "—and so I thought that maybe, I could talk to you too?"

He looked so hopeful and I didn't have the heart to turn him down.

 **002**

"Yamamoto-san," I greeted back, my tone hinting that I wanted the conversation to end. It didn't seem like Yamamoto took the hint because he just laughed and walked closer to me.

"Please, no need to be so formal. Just call me anal."

" _What?"_

"What?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Tsuna was weird. It wasn't a _bad_ weird, though. Takeshi just wasn't quite accustomed to it.

Takeshi talked about lots of things with his friends in school. They would talk about the weather, about homework, about food, about the random things of note that happened in life, but somehow the conversation would always go back to baseball. It would flow gradually, starting out with something inane, like maybe Kenta's sister having bad taste in crushes, and then, before anyone was aware of it, they would be talking about how fast Yamamoto's pitches were and strategies to take during the next game.

However, with Tsuna, it seemed that the conversation couldn't get _away_ from baseball fast enough.

"…right. I have to confess that I actually know absolutely nothing about baseball," Tsuna said awkwardly after about a minute of hearing Takeshi talking about baseball related topics.

"Really? But we play baseball during PE!" Takeshi exclaimed. He didn't think it was possible, but Tsuna seemed to turn even _more_ awkward.

"You know, there's a reason I make literally every team I'm on lose," Tsuna said. "But, enough about that. What I want to know is, um, how do I put this politely…" He trailed off, the corner of his mouth pulling down a little. Takeshi thinks that he was probably the only one in the school that Tsuna's ever shouted at before. That was pretty cool.

"Haha, are you going to ask me why I'm talking to you again?" Takeshi teased. "If that's the case, then it's because I want to. We're friends, right?"

Tsuna looked like he wanted to scream. He breathed in deeply and exhaled through his mouth.

"Yeah, I guess we're friends," he forced out in a strangled voice. Takeshi's smile dimmed a bit.

"You know," he started hesitantly. "If you don't want to be friends with me, you don't have to." Before Yamamoto could continue talking, however, Tsuna interrupted him, eyes wide and arms flailing.

"N-no! You don't, I'm not, I really _do_ want to be your friend! But it's just that…" Tsuna looked away. "I'm not a good person to be with. You shouldn't stay near me; I'm dangerous."

"Hm, this is the first time I've seen you flustered!" Takeshi said, smile back in place and as bright as ever. "So far I've seen you annoyed, terrified, and flustered!"

"Are you… are you _keeping track_ of my emotions?" Tsuna looked disbelieving. " _Why?_ "

"It's fun, haha!" Takeshi replied, and honestly? It _was_ fun. There was just something about being the first one seeing Tsuna's various emotions that amused Takeshi. "And you know, your line about being dangerous and all that? It kind of reminded me of that one book I read. Light or something?"

"What."

"You know? About the vampires and one human girl. I remembered that they played baseball! Don't you think it'd be fun to play baseball with a bunch of vampires?"

"Twilight," Tsuna whispered under his breath. "Oh my _god_ , you've read _Twilight_."

Takeshi mentally filed 'horrified' under the list of Tsuna's emoted emotions. "Yeah, I think that was the name."

" _Why_?"

"My friends were talking about popular English books and I got curious," Takeshi answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"Then why haven't you read Harry Potter? They have similar popularity levels!" Tsuna demanded. During one of their first conversations, while they had been fishing for topics, Tsuna brought up books and Harry Potter. Takeshi had admitted that he had neither seen the movies nor read the books, and so the subject was dropped.

Until now, it seemed.

"Ahahaha," Takeshi rubbed the back of his head. "It's because there were four Twilight books and seven Harry Potter books. I didn't really want to read that much."

"You've read all _four Twilight books?!_ " Tsuna's voice became a lot more high-pitched, until it was almost a shriek. Both Takeshi and Tsuna seemed taken aback by that. Takeshi laughed while Tsuna touched his throat with a look of wonder on his face.

"Well, no, I haven't. I kind of just read a bit at the start… but it got boring so I skipped to the baseball part," Takeshi said. Tsuna sighed.

"Well, I still can't believe you read Twilight and not Harry Potter," he grumbled. Takeshi had no idea why Tsuna was so bothered about it.

"Haha, if you really want me to know the story, why don't you read it to me?" The words were hollow words, words merely said to be said, in jest and without any expectation.

That was why Takeshi was taken aback when Tsuna just shrugged and said "Okay."

-o-

My daily social routine went a little like this: I would reach class early and Sasagawa would talk to me for a while. Kurokawa would then come in and Sasagawa would go to her. Yamamoto would reach the class a few minutes later and me. He'd talk to me in between classes, since I was sitting closest to him, but would eat lunch with his baseball friends. Sometimes, Mochida came to eat with me. Other times, I ate alone.

It had been two days since the roof incident, and Reborn hadn't done anything to me apart from check my homework – which I had done perfectly – and test how much knowledge of the school curriculum I had. I didn't bother to pretend I didn't know because, well, this was _Reborn_. His expression was unreadable after looking at my test scores but he never said anything to me, only giving me harder questions to complete.

Today I was eating alone once again. I even had a book with me – some Italian-Japanese dictionary I borrowed from the library. Italian had sort of been my first language in my last life, but I hadn't been using it for nearly fourteen years. I was bound to be rusty.

(Back then, before I grew accustomed to the country I had been born in, my father – who worked in Italy – decided to move my mother and me to Italy too. He thought that such a move could improve familial relationships between the three of us; that he would be able to be home more and we would be closer as a family.

In the end, the move changed absolutely _nothing_.)

Reborn appeared out of nowhere when I had a mouthful of food and I had to stop myself from choking. After a bout of harsh coughing, I recovered enough to speak.

"Hello, Reborn-san," I said in a slightly breathless voice. "Is there anything you need?"

"You could use Yamamoto's popularity and athletic ability in the famiglia," he said and I felt my blood run cold.

"What?"

"Unfortunately, he isn't fully loyal to you. You would need to fix that," Reborn continued.

"Reborn, you…"

"You know what I'm saying don't you, Tsuna? Make him your subordinate."

"You're going to turn my classmate into a mafia member too?" I hissed out through gritted teeth. My fists were clenched, nails biting into my palm, no doubt leaving angry red crescent marks on my hands. "Absolutely _not_. Yamamoto's focused on baseball; I'm only with him as a friend, not a potential _famiglia_ member."

"…I see," Reborn said noncommittally. I _hated_ that I couldn't read his face. I had no idea what he was planning, and it worried me.

-o-

Takeshi was walking back to class when he felt a small, pricking sensation on the back of his neck.

And then, there was darkness.

-o-

When Yamamoto didn't return to class after going to the toilet, I knew that whatever plan Reborn had cooked up had been set into motion. I had two choices here: a) I could stay until class ended, and then find Yamamoto after that or b) I could leave right now.

Potentially lose my reputation or potentially lose my friend? In the end, it wasn't much of a contest.

And besides, Yamamoto was a child. It was an adult's job to protect the children.

-o-

 _(It wasn't raining. The sun shone high in the sky and people were screaming. A woman grabbed my arm in a vice grip, eyes filled with tears._

" _My daughter, she's still inside!" she pleaded. "Please,_ _ **please**_ _—")_

-o-

Reborn had left clues for me. Those clues led me to an abandoned warehouse not too far from Namimori Middle School. Cautiously, I opened the door and peeked in. What I saw made me freeze.

Yamamoto, unconscious, tied up and on the ground. Another boy around his age sitting not too far away, a cigarette in his mouth.

This was mildly intimidating, but it was something I could handle. Hopefully.

I pushed the door open a little further and the jarring scrape of metal against concrete echoed through the room, bringing the smoking boy's attention to me. Upon catching sight of me, he scowled and walked towards me. I tried to calm myself as I walked towards him as well.

"I refuse to accept it," he said. "I refuse to accept that someone like you can become the boss of the Vongola."

I kept silent.

"You're nothing but a wallflower. The people who hang around you do so out of pity and, other than them, you don't even bother talking to anyone. No one cares about you; you're pathetic," he spat out. For some reason, it didn't quite feeling like he was talking about me.

"That's not true…" a weak voice came from Yamamoto's general direction. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as the boy turned his derisive gaze onto Yamamoto.

Everyone knows that you shouldn't draw a dangerous person's attention to you.

"I don't even understand why you keep that idiot around." The boy was still speaking to me. "He doesn't even contribute anything; he's useless to you. Just discard him."

"Being useful or useless to me doesn't matter; Yamamoto is my friend, and I won't ever abandon him," I said firmly. There was a strange feeling in me, like a resonance deep in my chest, and something seemed to slide into place with a _click_.

The emotion I could glean from the boy's green eyes were turbulent, a mix of envy and anger, bitterness and longing.

He lit a stick of dynamite and threw it at Yamamoto. Without thinking at all, I shot forward and intercepted it. It fell to the floor and I quickly stamped it out. My heart was pumping in my chest and adrenaline flooded my body. This was _real_ , an actual danger to us. Yamamoto and I might _die_ here.

The boy gritted his teeth and glared at me. "You're a nuisance," he said. "I will kill you right here."

I resisted the urge to look back at Yamamoto, instead trying to forcefully and telepathically insert the thought of running away in his mind.

The boy lit up five sticks of dynamite and threw them at me. I batted each one out of the air – if I dodge, they'd hit Yamamoto – and tried to stomp on them. I didn't manage to defuse them all and one exploded, throwing me back a short distance. There was a prickly pain covering a small portion of my lower leg and I knew, instantly, that I had been burnt.

I could see that Gokudera was preparing handfuls of dynamite and fear gripped my heart. Without a doubt, there was no way I could defuse them all. Most of them would probably go off and…

There was a familiar piercing pain in the center of my head and suddenly everything was Fire.

"Reborn. I will defuse the dynamite with my dying will."

-o-

When I lucid again, I noticed that I was in my underwear. Also, the floor was littered with defused dynamite, and the boy from earlier was unconscious among them. The urge to go over to him and check on him was strong, but there was Yamamoto.

I ran over to Yamamoto and untied the knots. It took some time, but I finally managed to get them undone. Yamamoto had been uncharacteristically silent and expressionless the entire time, and I worried for him.

"Yamamoto, are you—"

Suddenly, as if a switch was flipped, a smile slid onto Yamamoto's face and he started to laugh.

"You dropped the '-san'!" he exclaimed. I stiffened.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "If you want, Yamamoto-san, I can call you by that."

"No, no! It's fine! Haven't I been trying to get you to call me Yamamoto from the beginning?" Then his expression shifted, just a little. "Say, can I call you Tsunayoshi?"

"Just Tsuna's fine," I told him. I had been checking him over for any outstanding injuries but there had been none. Satisfied, I stood up and went over to the other boy.

"Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked. His voice has a strange inflection to it. "What are you going to do with the body?"

"I'm bringing the boy home with me. He's a little injured and needs treatment," I told him. This boy was just a child, someone who had been wronged, who did not receive the care he should have had. I won't leave him here to die.

"I'll help you," Yamamoto immediately offered. I looked at him, unsteady on his feet and eyes still a little unfocused, and decided against it.

"No, you need to go home and get some rest, Yamamoto."

"I can help you," he insisted. I shook my head.

"You're in bad shape. You need to rest. I worry about you, so you resting will help put my mind at ease and prevent me from worrying."

Yamamoto had no retort to that and hence he let me walk him home, carrying an unconscious on my back, and in my underwear.

-o-

The boy was safely in my room, wounds bandages and safely tucked in bed, when I found Reborn. A simmering flame was burning ferociously within me, growing larger by the second.

"You did it, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yes." Reborn didn't even bother to deny it.

"How _dare_ you?" I hissed out. " _How dare you_ , they're just children! You sent a child to kidnap a child. What is _wrong_ with you?"

When Reborn didn't answer, I grew angrier. The flames reached an inferno and I felt that I was spitting out molten lave.

"You are an adult. You are _THE_ adult in the situation. It's an adult's jOB TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN, NOT THROW THEM _HEAD FIRST_ INTO DANGER!" My voice gradually increased in volume until I was all but screaming. It was a wonder that my mother hadn't come up to ask us what we were doing.

After I had finished shouting, I turned around.

"Tsuna, why did you say I was an adult?" Reborn asked. This time, I was the one who didn't answer as I walked out of the room.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** to anyone who's reading: in which other RRR chapter did you read the 'resonate and click' thing?

i'm not just using it as a fancy way to describe feelings. 'resonate and click' actually mean something. it's not a very important something, but it's _something_.

(haha this started out funny. i wonder if anyone realised that i took lines straight out of the manga... on purpose)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

 _The school was burning._

 _"Is there anyone else still inside?" one of my coworkers shouted over the din of the crowd. The rest of them did a headcount. All the children in our classes were present. Behind us, the fire roared._

 _"Everyone is here," another coworker shouted back. Before we could react, however, I caught a glimpse of movement from a window on the second floor._

 _"There's someone still inside!"_

 _"What?! Who?"_

 _Suddenly, the principal grabbed my arm._

 _"It's Isabella! My daughter, she's still inside! Please,_ _ **please**_ _..."_

 _I didn't even hesitate, emptying a bottle of water over a blanket and dashing into the burning building._

 _It wouldn't be until later that I heard that the principal had offended the mafia. The fire had been caused by the mafia, and the principal's daughter trapped in the building to die, in order to teach the principal a lesson._

 _And it wouldn't be until it was too late that I found out that the very act of saving the principal's daughter put my name on their hit list._

-o-

"Gokudera Hayato, also known as Smoking Bomb Hayato, the human dynamite," Hayato heard Reborn's voice say as he slowly slipped out of his unconscious state.

"I don't care what you call him," another voice said. It was Vongola Decimo's voice. Hayato was suddenly aware that he was lying on a soft surface.

"You should. Gokudera Hayato is going to be-"

"I refuse to bring a child into these circumstances, go to hell." Vongola Decimo's voice was as bitingly cold and sharp as ice. Hayato opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar room.

"He's awake."

Hayato made to sit up and was immediately forced back down by the Vongola Decimo.

"You're still hurt, you need rest."

"Are you going to kill me?" Hayato asked. The Vongola Decimo looked taken aback by those words.

"What? Why would I kill you? The, I," he spluttered, " _what_?"

"I tried to attack you, I tried to kill you and your subordinate. It would only be fair for you to kill me." The Vongola Decimo stared at him for a long while and Hayato braced himself.

"Okay, firstly, Yamamoto isn't my subordinate. Secondly, I'm really not going to kill you so don't look at me like that," he sighed deeply, rubbing his face with his hands.

"If you're not going to kill him, you should make him part of the famiglia," Reborn cut in. A small inkling of hope made itself known in Hayato's heart, but he refused to acknowledge it. There was absolutely no reason for someone as powerful as the Vongola Decimo to accept Hayato into their famiglia, and especially not after Hayato tried to kill him.

"Make him join the mafia? He's just. He's just a kid; that's a fate worse than death!" The Vongola Decimo glanced towards him and his voice softened. "I don't want him to get hurt because of me."

Hayato didn't understand.

"If, If I may speak," he started, sitting up. This time, no one stopped him from moving. He paused, waiting for permission to speak.

"Go ahead," Reborn said. Hayato bowed his head.

"It would be an honour if the Vongola Decimo would accept me to be part of his family. Getting hurt is of no consequence to me, I am ready to put my life on the line for Vongola's sake."

"Gokudera Hayato would be a good addition to the famiglia," Reborn said, tone pleased. A long period of time passed without any answer from the Vongola Decimo and Hayato couldn't help but raise his head.

The Vongola Decimo's face was entirely blank as he stared at Hayato. However, Hayato could see that his hands were clenched into fists, and his whole frame tense.

"This is wrong," Hayato heard him whisper to himself. "This is wrong."

"Having the loser of a fight serve under the winner is a mafia rule," Reborn said. "And even if you don't accept, Gokudera Hayato would still be part of the mafia. He just wouldn't be under your protection."

The Vongola Decimo shot Reborn a glare. "I know what you're doing," he hissed out through gritted teeth. Hayato didn't know if it was a trick of the light or something else, but he could've sworn that the Vongola Decimo's eyes flashed a dark, burnt orange for a fraction of a second.

"Is it working?" Reborn asked, a smug smirk on his face.

"Yes it is, damn you," was the Vongola Decimo's reply. He then took in a deep breath and turned to Hayato. "I, I accept you as part of my family. I hope we can be friends."

Hayato couldn't believe his ears. He sprung to his feet and knelt down in front of the Vongola Decimo. "Thank you so much for the opportunity, Jyuudaime" he said breathlessly. "I promise I will not let you down."

"Stand up, stand up!" The Vongola Decimo sounded horrified and Hayato immediately followed the order thay was given to him.

"Yes, Jyuudaime."

"I, you," the Vongola Decimo shifted awkwardly. "You can just call me Tsuna, you know? I don't want you to call me by that title."

Hayato's heart leapt to his throat. To call the Vongola Decimo by a mere nickname was plain disrespect. There was no way he could do that. Seeing Hayato's stricken face, the Vongola Decimo adverted his eyes.

"Never mind, just do as you like. Please take it easy."

"Thank you for your kindness, Jyuudaime." Hayato bowed deeply, unknowingly causing Tsuna much distress.

"Gokudera became your subordinate because of your strength. Good job, Tsuna."

There was no answer.

-o-

The atmosphere was thick with tension. Yamamoto was smiling at Gokudera, but his eyes were so dreadfully cold. Mochida stared at his lunch, having lost his appetite. I ate my own lunch slowly, trying to ignore the situation.

The only one who seemed to be enjoying this entire setup was Reborn.

"Who's the newcomer, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked. Gokudera seemed to want to say something, but he held his tongue.

"His name is Gokudera Hayato and he's my friend now," I replied.

"Hm, I see." Yamamoto cocked his head to the side. "I guess you're not that bad of a person if Tsuna considers you his friend. I still don't trust you, though."

"Yamamoto!"

"I understand," Gokudera bowed his head a little. "It is only natural for Jyuudaime's right hand man to be wary of newcomers."

"Right hand man?" both Yamamoto and I echoed.

"Yes? Is he not your right hand man?" Gokudera asked, confused.

"Okay, just what the hell is going on here?" Mochida finally burst out, unable to stand the feeling of being left out any longer. "Tsuna?"

"That's..." I hesitated for a moment. I didn't really want to reveal anything about the mafia to Mochida, but it wouldn't be right to keep him in the dark. "I just found out that I'm the heir to some really big mafia family through my father's side, and I'm being groomed to be the next mafia boss of that family," I said in a rush. The sooner everything got spilled out, the better. Like ripping a bandaid. I held still, not knowing how Mochida would react to the news, when Mochida started to laugh. Something in my chest clenched at the sound.

"You know, if you didn't want to tell me, you could just say so. You don't have to come up with such an elaborate story," Mochida said, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"But it's true!"

Mochida abruptly stood up. "I'm done eating. I'll be in my classroom if you need me." With that, he left the roof.

I didn't know why, but I didn't chase after him.

-o-

Yamamoto had baseball practice and Gokudera had to go to his part-time job after school ended, giving me the chance to walk home by myself. Well, technically I was with Reborn, but I didn't want to acknolwedge his presence. Hence, I was walking home alone.

From a distance, I saw a crowd by the side of the street. They were wearing relatively tacky clothing and were only a pompadour away from looking like a stereotypical deliquent from old movies. They must be new here; Hibari would never allow such a crowd to form and all Namimori citizens knew that.

As I drew closer, I heard a familiar voice.

"We would greatly appreciate it if you monkeys could leave us alone," Kurokawa Hana said. Curious, and a little worried, I drew closer to the group only to see Kurokawa and Sasagawa with their backs to the wall as they were boxed in from almost all sides by the group. Kurokawa was stepping slightly in front of Sasagawa, eyes narrowed in defiance, but I could see that her hands were shaking.

"Oh come on, don't be like that! Is that how you treat distinguished guests from the city?" One of the men leered at Kurokawa, and she gritted her teeth. "We just want to accompany you for a while."

"They did tell you to leave them alone, you know. As 'distinguished guests', should you step back when asked to do so? Right now, you're merely behaving like a bunch of hooligans." I couldn't help but step in. It wasn't right for me to just stand by and watch a bunch of grown men bully two children.

"Oh?" Immediately, the group of men turned to face me. They took one look at me and started to laugh.

"The little boy wants to play hero, that's awfully cute," one of them cooed mockingly. His words just rolled off me, like water off a duck's back. I had nothing to prove to them.

"Can you please allow them to pass? You're being awfully rude."

"And if we say no?"

"Then I will have no choice but to alert the authorities," I replied calmly. Of course, I wasn't sure how I could summon Hibari so quickly, but I could probably just scream that someone was disturbing the peace and he would descend, like a large and terrifying bird from the heavens.

"Oi, do you even know who I am?" Another person, most likely the leader, stepped forth. He spat on the ground and I winced. That was bound to summon Hibari. "I am the younger brother of the leader of the fearsome Black Wolf gang!"

"Sorry, I've never heard of that name before," I replied almost immediately.

"How is that possible?!"

"Hibai-san does his job very well," I said with utmost seriousness. Kurokawa couldn't contain her snort of amusement. Suddenly, her eyes went wide.

"Tsuna-san!" Kyoko yelled in a panic.

The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood up and, without thinking, I whirled around, using the momentum of the turn to drive my elbow into the stomach of the person standing behind me. The clang of metal against concrete echoed as the steep pipe the person had been carrying fell to the floor.

What happened later was strange and even I didn't know what to make of it.

It was as if my body was not my own; there was a disconnect between my screaming mind and the fluidity of my motions as I kicked the steel pipe upwards, catching it in my hand. I turned swiftly again, smashing the pipe into someone's ribcage before he could punch me, and then dropped to the ground to avoid an attack from another person.

 _He overextended_ a voice seemed to whisper in my head as I watched the man trip over me and fall flat on the ground. _These people are amateurs._

I glanced over at Kurokawa and Sasagawa. They were rooted on the spot, staring at me. Upon making eye contact, they broke out of their frozen state.

I jumped to my feet and brought the steel pipe up to defend myself. Another long clang was heard as the pipe came into contact with a long metal crowbar, and I winced.

"Go, get the Disciplinary Committee!" I yelled. Sasagawa nodded, eyes shining with determination and both she and Kurokawa ran off. Once they were gone, the strange thing that had been controlling my body ceased to exist and I was unable to dodge the kick to my stomach. I hissed in pain as I dropped to my knees.

"Not so tough now, aren't you?" the leader sneered. Having nothing to say, I didn't answer. I was kicked in the stomach once again, causing me to accidentally bite my cheek. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth and I grimaced. In the distance, I saw Reborn observing me, Leon perched on his hand.

Before I could even start to wonder what Reborn was doing, I was distracted by a rock that had sailed through the air in a perfect arc and collided painfully with he head of the person that had been kicking me. He cursed, stumbling back, and I took the chance to scramble to my feet. I, along with everyone else, turned to face the direction the rock had come from.

Sasagawa Kyoko stood in the distance, holding another rock in her hand as she shook in fear. Still, she stood her ground.

"Leave him alone!" she yelled as she threw another rock. This one was easily dodged as they could see it coming.

"Tch, you were cute at first but now you're just annoying." One of the men sauntered forward. Sasagawa gulped and clutched at herself in an attempt to stop herself from shaking.

"You will leave Tsuna-san alone." Despite her obvious terror, her voice was firm. Outwardly, I was staring at Sasagawa, flabberghasted. Internally, I was screaming desperately at her to run.

"Oh? Who's going to make us?" the man sneered at her. Sasagawa didn't answer him; she didn't have to.

I had to admit that Hibari had really good dramatic timing. Right after the man had finished speaking, Hibari dropped down in front of Sasagawa (from? Where? There were no trees anywhere near here?) brandishing his tonfas. He took one look at my bruised form and his face darkened.

"For harming the citizens of Namimori," he hissed, "I will bite you to death!"

-o-

"Thanks for today," Hana said. "If you hadn't been there, the situation might have been really... bad."

They were sitting on the riverbank as Kyoko helped Tsuna apply ointment and bandages to his injuries. Her hands were still shaking.

"It's no problem," Tsuna replied. "I didn't want any harm to befall you guys."

 _"It's no problem, Kyoko! A man has to protect the people he holds dear!"_

Kyoko's hands stilled and Tsuna didn't seem to notice. Hana, on the other hand, frowned.

"Kyoko?"

"When I was ten years old," Kyoko began in a small voice. "When I was ten years old, some upperclassmen decided to use me against my brother. They held me hostage, threatening to do me harm as they, as they..." Kyoko's fists clenched and she grit her teeth in frustration. "I couldn't do anything at all, I could just watch as they beat him up."

"Sasagawa-san..."

"I, I don't want this!" Kyoko burst out, over three years' worth of guilt and frustration rushing out of her. "I don't want to be the helpless one, unable to do anything at all when my friends get hurt! I wasn't even as fast as Hana was when we ran to get help!"

"Kyoko," Hana started but immediately shut up when Kyoko rounded on her, eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Don't 'Kyoko' me, Hana! If Tsuna weren't there, you were going to sacrifice yourself for me, weren't you? You were going to make a loud distraction so that I could get away, _weren't you_?"

"..." Hana looked away, and that was confirmation enough. Kyoko felt something in her chest tighten.

"I don't want this," she repeated, calmer this time but just as determined. "I don't want to just be protected. I don't want to see people hurt because of me. I, I want..." She bit her lip. "I don't really want to hurt people, but I want to be able to protect myself and the people I care about. That doesn't really make much sense, does it..." She laughed wryly and shook her head. "Never mind, I'm sorry. Just forget that I said anything."

Her chest was heavy and her eyes burned. She avoided looking into Tsuna's eyes as she continues treating his injuries.

"You probably already know this but... there's a form of martial arts known as Aikido and it's purely defensive. I won't say that you won't hurt people with it because it's still self-defence but you can't instigate fights with it," Tsuna said.

"I know about Aikido," Kyoko said. "But it's not enough for me. What if the person attacking isn't attacking me, but someone else? Aikido is about using the opponent's strength against themselves, and that's good but..."

"But it's not what you want," Tsuna finished. He seemed to be contemplating something.

"There are many other types of self-defence you could take," Tsuna started slowly. "But they aren't as peaceful as aikido. Like the Yong Chun Quan, it is similar to Aikido in a way that it focuses on keeping the opponent off balance and using your opponent's strength against them, but you need to be able to steel yourself to dish out large amounts of damage to your opponent in order to win the fight as quickly as possible."

Kyoko grimaced at that. She didn't want to hurt people if she could help it, but she knew that there were times she simply had to fight back.

"You're pretty knowledgeable in this area, Sawada," Hana commented. "Do you study martial arts as well?"

"I... no, I don't study martial arts." He looked a little troubled. "You could say that my... my father wanted me to learn multiple forms of martial arts so that I could defend myself."

"Wait." Hana narrowed her eyes. "You have a father?"

"Hana!" Kyoko gasped, scandalised. All thoughts about learning a style of martial arts were instantly shoved to the back of her mind. "You can't just _ask_ people these things!"

"It's okay Sasagawa-san," Tsuna said with a strained smile. "That question is perfectly understandable. And yes, I do have a father. Or at least, I still had one the last time I checked. That was... three years ago, I think."

"The last time you saw your father was three years ago," Hana said tonelessly, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Nah, I merely talked to him on the phone three years ago. The last time I actually saw him, in the flesh, was five years ago," Tsuna corrected. Kyoko would have tried to comfort him but he was so nonchalant about it, as if he didn't care for his father at all. Hana thought the same thing, and they both exchanged an awkward glance.

Once Tsuna had finished patching himself up, he stood up. "Thank you for helping me," he said. "I'll be on my way now; my mother must be worried about me."

"It's no problem," Hana said.

"There's an Aikido dojo at the south of Namimori, and a Yong Chun Quan dojo a train station away, if you're interested," Tsuna said. "There are probably a few other ones nearby but I'm not very certain as to where they are."

Kyoko nodded. "I'll consider it."

Tsuna's smile contained a hint of melancholy in it as he nodded back and walked away.

Once Tsuna was out of sight, Hana turned to look at Kyoko.

"Are you really going to learn to fight?"

"I..." Kyoko stared at the ground. "I don't know."

-o-

 **Author's note**

I'm back! Also, a friend of mine has decided that he might be interested in helping me write some of the stories I have in hiatus. His writing style is rather similar to mine, so it should be alright. I think he's planning on tackling Ragazzo Magico, Vongola Decimo, among other things.

This chapter is largely possible due to him, who managed to get me back into KHR again by asking me to summarize the entire story for him.

Yong Chun Quan can also be known as Wing Chun and it's a style of martial arts that was adapted by a woman for people who are smaller in size and with less strength. It has been compared to boxing before, actually, because it uses fists. It also uses kicks.

I hope that this development of Kyoko is alright. I do want her to step up a bit more, but I don't want her to be the Kyoko in Game of Life (which is actually a crackfic). Kyoko, as she is, is a really nice and wholly Good person. She would still fight if she feels like the situation is not just (see: her trying to tear Mochida a new one when he referred to her as his possession in the manga) but I really don't see her as the type to hurt other people if she can help it.

She has Sun Flames in this verse, btw.


End file.
